Photograph of James Dixon with his conductor’s baton, 1990s. James Dixon Papers [UA10028], University Archives, University of Iowa Libraries.
The Quad Cities (1994)
For his last performances with the Quad City Symphony Orchestra (QCSO)—April 9 and 10, 1994, at the Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa and Centennial Hall in Rock Island, Illinois—James Dixon selected Symphony No. 5 by Gustav Mahler. Receptions followed both performances. This allowed the larger QCSO community to gather one last time and enjoy a meal with everyone’s favorite foodie.
As proof Dixon’s influence would outlast his tenure with the orchestra, the president of the QCSO named Dixon the symphony’s first Conductor Laureate, an honorific reflective of his service and success.
University of Iowa (1997)
Past and present university presidents and directors of the University of Iowa School of Music spoke alongside former students and colleagues at Dixon’s last University of Iowa Symphony Orchestra Concert at Hancher Auditorium on Wednesday, March 12, 1997. Anyone who did not get a turn at the microphone was offered a seat in the orchestra for the performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 6, “Tragic.”